Electric igniter for hydrocarbon-engines.



No. 741,365. PATENTEDIOGT. 13, 1903;.

' J. W. PACKARD. ELECTRIC IGNITER FOR HYDROOARBON ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1902.

no MODEL.

7 FP 0 0 O x a f 13 a O O ;0 i3 6 UNITED STATES Patented October 13, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES W. PACKARD, OF WARREN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, OF WARREN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIR- GINIA.

ELECTRIC IGNITER FOR HYDROCARBON-ENGINES.

.SPEOIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,365, dated October 13, 1903.

Application filed November 14, 1902. Serial No. 131,340. (No model) To alt whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. PACKARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Varren, in the county of Trumbull, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Igniters for Hydrocarbon-Engines, of which the following is a speci Iication.

This invention relates to improvements in multiple-cylinder hydrocarbon-engines, and more particularly to such engines when used as motors for automobiles.

The improvement relates to devices for advancing the spark uniformly in each cylinder with reference to the time at which the piston is at the end of its stroke.

The invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an end view of the en gine-sh aft, governor, and the make-an d-brcak device for the igniter-circuits; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the engine-shaft, and 2 a centrifugal governor mounted on said shaft. The governor may be of any approved pattern. Upon the shaft 1 is a sliding collar 3, having two grooves, one of which is engaged by the arms of the governor. The other groove in the collar 3 operates a lever a, the opposite end of which engages a collar 5 on the shaft 6, which operates the inlet and exhaust valves of the engine. It is assumed that the engine, which is indicated at 7, has a plurality of cylinders, in the present instance four. The shaft 6 is operated by gears 8 9 from the engine-shaft, the gear 8 on said latter shaft being of half the diameter of the gear 9, which causes the shaft 6 to rotate at half the speed of the engineshaft.

Oonnected to rotate and slide with the collar 5 is a cylinder 10,0f fiber or other non-conducting material, and in the periphery of said cylinder is embedded a diagonal plate 11,0f brass or other conducting material. hen the engine is stopped, the parts occupy the position shown in Fig. 2. \Vhen the engine is running, the collar 5 and the cylinder 10 move inward as the speed increases, thus causing the plate 11 to reach the contact-points 12 earlier in the rotation of the shaft 0 and advance the sparks with relation to the movements of the pistons. The points 12 are carried on springlingers 13, to which the circuits 1% are connected. The contact-plate 11 is electrically connected in the usual manner.

The contact-plate 11 does not extend to the outer end of the cylinder 10, there being a plain ring 15, of insulating material, at said outer end upon which said contact-points may run, thus shutting off the igniters entirely when the speed of the engine reaches a certain maximum.

Theoperation of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing description.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as novel is 1. In a multiple-cylinder hydrocarbon-engine, the combination with the engine-shaft and the governor thereon, of a second shaft operating at half the speed of the engineshaft, a cylinder of non-conducting material arranged to slide 011 and turn With said second shaft, means for communicating the movement of the governor to said cylinder, a diagonally-arranged plate of conducting ma terial upon said cylinder, a complete circle of non-conducting material at the outer end of said cylinder, and a plurality of conductingfingers arranged to bear on said cylinder and conducting-plate, whereby the spark is advanced uniformly in all of the cylinders of the engine as the speedincreases, and the igniters cease to operate when the engine reaches a certain maximum speed.

2. In a multiple-cylinder hydrocarbon-engine, the combination with the engine-shaft and the governor thereon, of a second shaft geared to and operating at half the speed of the engine-shaft, a collar arranged to slide on and to turn with said second shaft, a cylinder of non-conducting material connected to and moving with said collar, a lever connecting said collar with the governor, a diagonallyarrang'ed plate of conducting material upon said cylinder, said plate being shorter than the width of said cylinder, and a plurality of conducting-fingers arranged to bear on said. cylinder and conducting-plate or on said cylinder beyond the outer end of said plate according as the position of said cylinder relative to the brushes is varied by the governor,

as and for the purpose described. 10

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES \V. PACKARD. I \Vitnesses:

ARA C. HARRINGTON, G. B. Pos'r. 

